Who does Justice and Privilege belong to? African Feminist Strategy meeting on Financing for Development & the Post 2015 Development Agenda

Posted on May 25, 2015 by FEMNET/By Nyaguthii Wangui Maina as a series of blog posts on the African Feminist Strategy meeting on Financing for Development & the Post 2015 Development Agenda, the first of which can be found here

People want to live in societies that are fair, where hard work is rewarded and where one’s socio-economic position can be improved regardless of one’s background. With a focus on the structural realities of Africa’s economy today, the position of African women in global and local economies is precarious. Sub Saharan Africa has a 30% gender pay gap at the lower level; this means that regardless of doing the same amount/type of work, women receive 30% less than their male counterparts. When one digs a little deeper, it is common place to see women in low-salaried insecure occupations such as small-scale farming, or as domestic workers where they comprise about 83 per cent of the workforce as reported by UN-Women. It is also reported that globally, women do nearly two and a half (2 ½) times as much unpaid care & domestic work as men.

Our world is definitely out of balance.

“We must transform these structures that keep us disempowered,” an emotional participant bellowed as discussions began on how to transform women’s structural location in Africa’s development. Ms Florence Butegwa of UN Women presented her organisation’s flagship report Progress of the World’s Women 2015-2016: Transforming Economies, Realizing Rights which nuances why the global economy is ill fit for women and further provides possible solutions to this imbalance. At the heart of this report is an optimistic scrutiny of economic and social policies that make it possible for both women and men to care for their loved ones without having to forego their own economic security, success and independence;essentially a just, egalitarian and rewarding world for all.